Coronary Calcium Scan

[Vince]

Also known as calcium scan test.
A coronary calcium scan is a CT scan of your heart that detects and measures the amount of calcium in the walls of your coronary arteries. Buildup of calcium, or calcifications, are a sign of atherosclerosis, coronary heart disease, or coronary microvascular disease.
https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/health-topics/topics/cscan/

 

[Vince]

---

The Case for
Coronary Artery Calcium CT Scans
Tim Russert: Dead at 58

I was shaken by Tim Russert's death from a heart attack at age 58 on June 13, 2008. As one of NBC's top newscasters, he was beloved by millions of Americans who would watch him each week on Meet the Press , as he unrelentingly asked the tough questions to our politicians.
When men (and less frequently women) die suddenly in middle-age it's almost always caused by coronary artery thrombosis, a blood clot suddenly forming in one of the two arteries supplying the heart muscle itself.
Although the heart pumps all five liters of your blood every minute, it itself gets its oxygen and nutrients only from the blood supplied by the 4 mm diameter right and left coronary arteries that run on its surface, starting from the aorta.
Heart attack caused by coronary artery disease is the number one killer in the United States and Western Europe. It causes over half a million deaths (USA) per year. Stroke is the second most common cause of death, and it occurs by exactly the same process, obstruction of the arteries to the brain.
Heart attacks occur when a coronary artery suddenly plugs up. Here's how it happens.
http://bobblum.com/ESSAYS/BIOMED/coronary-CT.html

 

[SoCal Guy]

Russert also likely had undiagnosed thyroid issues, which can increase likelihood of heart attack. He had several of the diagnostic criteria including dying outer eyebrows, edematous jowls and (mildly, in his case) bulging eyes.




Historical photo of a more extreme case, before and after thyroid supplementation:



I found myself sitting on a plane last month next to a guy who looked much worse than Russert.

I'm sure it weirded him out when I explained that he ought to have his thyroid checked, but I felt it was just basic decency to warn him. He did look a little freaked out, and said his dad had had thyroid issues.

He also said that he'd gotten checked, and the endo said his thyroid numbers looked good. Yet one glance at the guy and you KNEW he was in danger.

Good doctors are NOT as common as we'd hope, and are worth their weight in gold.

 

[Vince]

The lipid-lowering effect of levothyroxine in patients with subclinical hypothyroidism: https://www.excelmale.com/forum/sho...-with-subclinical-hypothyroidism-a-systematic

 

[DragonBits]

Coronary Calcium Scan $49 in Chicago area

I recently got a Coronary Calcium Scan from advocate health care in the Chicago area.

I mainly got the scan because they were offering it at $49 for this year, and I was curious.

My scan came in at 79, not perfect but better than average for my age of 65. Perfect would be zero.

If it cost the same amount in a year, or if Medicare will cover it, I will get it again to see if the score changes.

 

[Saul]

Use caution with CT scans. CTs emits a powerful dose of radiation, in some cases equivalent to about 200 chest X-rays, or the amount most people would be exposed to from natural sources over seven years.

 

[DragonBits]

Use caution with CT scans. CTs emits a powerful dose of radiation, in some cases equivalent to about 200 chest X-rays, or the amount most people would be exposed to from natural sources over seven years.

I agree there is a risk with CT radiation, though I have never gotten any sort of xray or CT scan in the past, outside of dental xrays.

Not sure about how much radiation was involved with advocate group as it varies a lot depending on the machine. But I thought the risk was worth the information.

So I would be careful, especially if you are under 50 years of age.

NIH says

[FONT=&quot][h=3]Results[/b]Radiation dose from a single CAC CT scan varied more than 10-fold (effective dose range=0.8 to 10.5 mSv) depending on the protocol. In general higher radiation doses were associated with higher x-ray tube current, higher tube potential, and spiral scanning with low pitch, and retrospective gating. The wide dose variation also resulted in wide variation in estimated radiation-induced cancer risk. Assuming screening every five years from age 45-75 for men and from age 55-75 for women, the estimated excess lifetime cancer risk using the median dose of 2.3 mSv (0.8-10.5 mSv) was 42 cases/100,000 for men (range 14-200) and 62 cases/100,000 for women (range 21-300).
[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot][h=3]Conclusions[/b]These radiation risk estimates can be compared to potential benefits from screening, when such estimates are available. Doses and hence risks can be minimized by using optimized protocols.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2765044/



[/FONT]